For years, Vanguard has treated Bitcoin like an awkward guest allowed in the conversation, but never invited to stay. Executives questioned its value. The firm blocked crypto ETFs. Official guidance framed digital assets as speculative and immature.
And yet, Vanguard’s own portfolio tells a different story.
By the end of 2025, the world’s most influential asset manager held close to $10 billion in crypto-linked equity exposure, largely through Strategy (MicroStrategy) and Coinbase.
The Comment That Sparked the Debate
In mid-December 2025, John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, made a remark that echoed across finance circles. If tokenization never becomes meaningful, he said, Bitcoin is hard to view as more than a digital Labubu.
The comment wasn’t mockery. It was classification.
Under a traditional valuation framework, Bitcoin is a non-productive asset. It pays no dividends, generates no cash flows, and cannot be valued using discounted cash-flow models.
But that framework collides head-on with what Vanguard already owns.
Why the ETF Reversal Really Happened
On December 2, 2025, Vanguard quietly reopened the door it had kept shut for nearly two years: clients could once again trade spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on its retail platform.